USAC is hosting weekly office hours every Wednesday and Thursday where applicants and service providers can ask questions about the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program application process.
Wednesday, July 7 @ 1 p.m. MT: Emergency Connectivity Fund Overview Office Hours – Register
Thursday, July 8 @ 2 p.m. MT: Emergency Connectivity Fund Overview Office Hours for Tribal Applicants - Register
Frequently asked questions:
All FAQs are available here: https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-connectivity-fund-faqs
Applicants and service providers can also contact the Emergency Connectivity Fund Customer Support Center (CSC) with questions at (800) 234-9781 Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
How should applicants determine their unmet needs?
The FCC has not prescribed a specific way for applicants to go about estimating what they will need to address unmet needs.
In the case of schools, applicants should provide their best estimates about the number of students who did not have access to adequate connected devices, broadband connections, or both when the pandemic began; the number of students who do not currently have adequate access; and how the applicant expects those numbers to change with the requested ECF Program support.
While the FCC has not dictated specific data collection requirements for estimating the unmet for students, schools must describe how and when they collected the information that they use for the estimates provided in their responses.
There is no such data collection requirement for libraries to estimate the unmet need for library patrons. However, both schools and libraries must certify that they are seeking support for eligible equipment and/or services for students, school staff, and/or library patrons that would otherwise lack adequate access.
We encourage applicants to make their best efforts to estimate what they will need and apply for ECF funding in a timely manner, just as they do for the E-Rate Program.
Applicants may seek funding for only one fixed broadband connection per location and only one connected device and/or Wi-Fi hotspot per student, school staff member or library patron.
What types of equipment and services are eligible for reimbursement?
Eligible Equipment. The following types of equipment purchased for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons who would otherwise lack sufficient devices or connectivity to engage in remote learning are eligible for support: laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems (including air cards), routers, and devices that combine a modem and router.
Desktops and smartphones are not eligible for ECF Program funding.
Eligible services include commercially available Internet access services providing a fixed or mobile broadband Internet access connection for off-campus use by students, school staff, or library patrons who would otherwise lack access to connectivity sufficient to engage in remote learning. For more information visit emergencyconnectivityfund.org.
In limited circumstances where a school or library can demonstrate that there are no available service options sufficient to support remote learning for its students, school staff, or library patrons, the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program may support the construction of new networks and the customer premises equipment needed for datacasting services.